Jessica Leake

We're cousins. We write. We created a blog so that we could write about writing. 

Hi, everyone, I’m Kelsey Sandy and I’ve been writing for as long as I can remember (construction paper storybooks, colored pencil poems, teen-angsty journaling), but my first true stab at a novel came in high school, when I wrote (and finished!) a YA Fantasy novel.  Needless to say, that first novel never got published, but it cemented my love of writing, of creating worlds, characters, times, places, scenes, sentences.  Now I mainly focus on Literary Fiction (though I still love to read fantasy from time to time).

In 2007, I received my bachelor’s in Creative Writing from Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches, Texas.  Then, recently, in 2011, I received my MFA in Creative Writing from Purdue University, where I currently teach creative writing, business writing, and introductory composition.  My short fiction has appeared in The Albion Review, and my poetry has appeared in RE:AL.

My cousin, Jessica, and I have been swapping stories since childhood.  We read each other’s work and offer critiques.  We read each other’s query letters and offer hope.  Together, we have written thousands of pages, dozens of novel drafts.  And again, here we are, two manuscripts in our hands, just waiting to be read by others. 

And we know there are others of you just like us who are trudging through the query trenches.  I’m Jessica Leake, and I don’t have as impressive of writing credentials as my cousin. I’ve got my Masters in Social Work, and I work by day as a clinical therapist on a psychiatric unit. I’ve written a total of three complete YA novels, one of which is at the querying stage now. What I do have is a love for writing and books and a passion to hone my craft until it’s the best it can possibly be.

 I’ve spent two years reading the blogs of other writers and literary agents, participating in critique groups, and beta-reading. Now I want to be able to give back to the writing community by sharing the knowledge I’ve accumulated so far. We want to reach out to other writers for support and hopefully to offer some advice and reviews as we work toward our goal: publication!

Relatively Unread is a blog for great writers who, like us, haven’t yet been discovered.  We will discuss:
-The Writing Process
                -Drafting
                -Writing
                -Editing
-The Publication Process
                -Query Letters
                -Agent Information
                -Conferences
-Success Stories
                -Book Reviews of 1st Novels
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9 Responses
  1. Abby Fowers Says:

    Awesome! It is nice to meet the both of you. Good luck with the book that is in the query stage. *crossing fingers* I think one of the best things is having someone close to you that can support you and understand what you're doing! So cool :)


  2. Abby Fowers Says:

    Just an FYI - the comment box is giving me trouble. (hopefully this one will work easier than the last) lol. Might want to try having it as a pop up box. Might work better :) Still love this blog. Super cute!


  3. Thanks, Abby! We hope to give everyone some support. We'll check out the commenting issue--thanks for letting us know!


  4. Abby Fowers Says:

    Hey guys! I just gave you an award on my blog! Go check it out! :) Now I have to make sure I follow you on twitter!


  5. Welcome to the blog world. Nice to meet you!


  6. Anonymous Says:

    Glad to see it's easier to comment now! I just wanted to say that I'm so excited to read more posts. It'll be awesome to see what you two are writing while getting some writing tips in the process. I know you two will be fantastic bloggers if I enjoy every post as much as I did this one.


  7. @Cynthia Thank you! Nice to meet you, too. Now following your blog as well :).

    @Annie I'm so glad you liked it! We hope to have more writing/querying advice up soon.


  8. Anonymous Says:

    YAY! Thank y'all. Writer's resource! :)


  9. So nice to have such a close writing buddy! It makes all the difference in the world. I bet you're both going to have so much fun blogging together!